rat is bloated

Question


Question
Hi My Jumbo rat is a year old and is extremely bloated and has like a bloody discharge at the nose and mucuss at the eyes. could you tell me the possibilities what could be wrong? Also he aint pooping. He wont eat either.His back and hip bones are sticking out.  


no he has no discharge from his nose he has droped so much weight
he is very bony on top and very bloated, he will not eat or drink
he just wants to sleep i put a towel in his cage and he snuggles in it, he just cant poop, he is not wezzing he dose not sneeze just normal rat sneezing to clear his nose, I know pine shaveings
make him itch real bad to the point of bleading patches so i use ceder he dose allot better. I live in belen new mexico, do you know of a good vet close by?

Thsnks, Tammy.  

Answer
Yes your rat is very very sick because of the cedar bedding your using.
The bloating is probably fluid in his lungs. He may have pneumonia and damaged lungs from cedar. The fact he was also kept on pine before makes it even worse.

There are articles on every rat care website that warn rat owners and all small mammal owners to NEVER use pine or cedar. The phenol oils in these two beddings are deadly to rats because they destroy the rats lung tissue and premature death ensues. Also, these two litters are so bad they damage their internal organs such as their liver and can cause cancer.


Here are two links for you to read  on info about pine and cedar

http://ratfanclub.org/litters.html


http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/guineapigs/a/woodshavings.htm


I hope your little rat makes it.  He of course needs a vet right now but you also need to get him off the litter and onto plain paper towels till you get to the store.  He needs yesterdays news, aspen or any other bedding that does not contain dangerous phenol oils.

If he is in an aquarium that makes it even worse than ever due to the lack of ventilation.  
The fact he is not pooping could be anything from late onset mega colon to fecal impaction or even some type of intestinal obstruction, especially if he has been fed the dangerous diets that the pet stores sell (the seed mixes) which are very bad for them as well.  These foods tend to clog their intestines, especially if alfalfa is used since they cannot digest it properly.

Here are the names of the vets that you can check out. He needs to be seen right away. Be sure that you tell the vet that he has been exposed to pine and cedar for nearly a year so the Vet knows that this rat may be hypoxic from the toxins in these beddings.

Dr. George Abernathy
Facility: Sunrise Veterinary Clinic
Address:  132 Rio Rancho Blvd
 Rio Rancho NM 87124
Phone:  505-892-6538        
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Dr. Daniel Levenson
Facility: Southwest Veterinary Medical Center
Address:  2469 Corrales Road Suite A
 Corrales NM 87048
Phone:  505-890-8810



Please check out my website, Sandyscrittercity.com for info on rat care and proper diet and husbandry. I have many pages you may really learn from on rat care along with cute pictures too. You can share photos of your little friend if you want by sending them to sandyscrittercity@yahoo.com and I will put his picture up and of course add your first name and State to give you credit for being a happy rat owner!!   I hope he is going to be OK but just keep in mind if you get more rats that you have to read up on their care first so you know what is toxic to them.   Many people think because rats live in the wild they are  really  strong, can eat whatever they want and be ok etc....but the truth is, in the wild they only  live to be 3 to 6 months old and thats it. 6 months is actually very old for a wild rat.

I am sure you had no idea pine and cedar were bad for rats so do not get upset about it. Now that you know, you   have some time to try to get him healed and hopefully his lungs will not be scarred from the toxic phenol oils.  Keep me posted ok?  Good luck too!